William  Joseph  McGOWAN

 

"Bill"

 

mcgowan william j
NUMBER OF SERVICEO-701125
AGE23 yo
DATE OF BIRTH26 july 1920
ETATBenson, MINNESOTA
FAMILY

Epouse : Suzanne Catherine SCHAEFER McCONNELL

Parents : Joseph C. & Mary D. McGOWAN

Siblings : Patricia Anne 

RANKSecond Lieutenant
FONCTIONPilot
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENTJournalistMN
DATE of ENLISTEMENTFebruary 1943
 SQUADRON391st Fighter Squadron
 GROUP366th Fighter Group
ARMY9th US Air Force
DATE OF DEATH6 june 1944

mcgowan william j

Source : American Battle Monuments Commission

STATUSMIA
PLACE OF DEATHMoon-sur-Elle
DATA PLANP-47 Thunderbolt - type D-20-RE - s/n 42-76368 A8*K

P 47N Thunderbolt

Macr: 5542

Mission: Lison train station

Take-off Station 407 Thruxton, HAMPSHIRE

Shots by flak to 17h00

Crush in flames

CEMETERYNORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY of Colleville

Map of Normandy American Cemetery

GRAVE
PlotRowGrave
J2135
DECORATION

Air Medal

Purple Heart

Certificat Pilot

Photo FDLM

Photo FDLM

Photo FDLM

usaf 9af 366fg 391fs
STORY
Bill McGowan was born July 26, 1920 in Benson, Minnesota. He completed high school at Saint Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul in 1937 and graduated from the University of Missouri's School of Journalism in September 1942. He worked for United Press in Madison, Wisconsin followed by a stint as editor of the Swift County Monitor-News, his father's newspaper, before reporting to the Army Air Corps for training in early February, 1943.

After extensive training, McGowan received his 2nd Lieutenant commission and pilot wings at Eagle Pass, Texas in December, 1943. He then went to Harding Field, Baton Rouge, Louisiana for fighter pilot training, where he also married Suzanne Schaefer in February, 1944. In April, 1944 he shipped off to England and was deployed with the 366th Fighter Group as a P-47 pilot in the 391st Fighter Squadron. Lt. McGowan made ten sorties and four combat missions as part of a number of P-47 fighter sweeps over France leading up to the D-Day invasion.

On June 6, 1944 while on a low-level mission supporting the invasion on the Normandy beaches, Lt. McGowan's P-47 was shot down. The plane crashed in a field near the village of Moon-sur-Elle. Not yet 24-years old, Lt. McGowan was posthumously awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart.
mcgowan william j

mcgowan william j stele

Plaque in the cemetery of Moon Sur Elle, Normandy, France near the crash site

 

mcgowan william j stele

mcgowan william j stele

by Usafdo

mcgowan william j stele
mcgowan william j stele

By Ludovic AMELINE

Presse de la Manche

mcgowan william j stele

Cérémonie d'obsèque du Second Lieutenant William J McGOWAN le 9 juillet 2022

 Source photo : American Battle Monuments Commission

mcgowan william j   mcgowan william j
mcgowan william j  Speech by Paul Stouffer (Nephew of William J Mc GOWAN)mcgowan william j

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mcgowan william j  Presentation of the flag to the familymcgowan william j
mcgowan william j  mcgowan william j
Placement of the rosette on the wall of the missing

Second Lieutenant William J McGOWAN & Academy Military St Thomas

 Source photo : JF Pellouais

mcgowan william j

William J Mc GOWAN as a cadet

mcgowan william j

JF Pellouais and the Cadets of the St Thomas Military Academy during the ceremony


Brother of

William J.

 

William Thomas Vincent

DONNELLY


 

AGE27 yo

william_J_DONELLY

Source : Doc Wilson

DATE OF BIRTH12 August 1891 Benson, Swift County, MINNESOTA
ENLISTMENT STATENORTH DAKOTA
FAMILY 
RANKPrivate

william_J_DONELLY

Source : soilsister

UNIT

  26th Infantry Regiment

1st Division Infantry

 

26ir div 1
WARWORLD WAR FIRST
DATE OF DEATH5 October 1918
STATUSKIA
PLACE OF DEATHFleville
CEMETERY TEMPORARYCEMETERY TEMPORARY of  ExermontND
CEMETERYMEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY to Meuse-Argonne from Romagne-sous-Montfaucon
PlotTowGrave
E3928
SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTOPaul Stouffer - Ffindagrave.com - Abmc.gov

 

MEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY de Meuse-Argonne à Romagne-sous-Montfaucon

 

william_J_DONELLY

Source : Jerry Lee Scott

  Findagrave.com

Family of

William J.

 

Terrence Patrick McGOWAN

 

AGE30 yo

william_J_DONELLY

Source : Eric Baker

DATE OF BIRTH3 July 1888 Hancock, Stevens County, MINNESOTA
ENLISTMENT STATEMONTANA
FAMILY 

william_J_DONELLY

Source : soilsister

RANKPrivate
UNIT

308th Infantry Regiment

77th Infantry Division

308 ir div 77
WARWORLD WAR FIRST
DATE OF DEATH17 October 1918
STATUSKIAMontana
CEMETERYMEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY to Meuse-Argonne from Romagne-sous-Montfaucon
PlotTowGrave
C4027
SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTOPaul Stouffer - Abmc.gov - Findagrave.com

Family of

William J.

 

David Jay HOFFERT

 

AGE30 yo

David_Jay_Hoffert

Source : Joel Frampton Gilfert

DATE OF BIRTH29 September 1888 Columbus, Franklin County, OHIO
ENLISTMENT STATEPENNSYLVANIA
FAMILY

Parents : Manassa Kauffman & Mary Elsie Miller HOFFERT

Siblings : Jessie Moneta 

David_Jay_Hoffert

Source : soilsister

RANKFirst Lieutenant
UNIT

 

326th Infantry Regiment
82nd Infantry Division

 

326 ir div inf 82

 

WARWORLD WAR FIRST
DATE OF DEATH14 October 1918
STATUSKIAMontana
PLACE OF DEATHFleville
CEMETERYMEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY to Meuse-Argonne from Romagne-sous-Montfaucon
PlotTowGrave
D352

David_Jay_Hoffert

Source : Astrid

 

 

David_Jay_Hoffert

Source : Astrid

SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTOPaul Stouffer - Abmc.gov - Findagrave.com - Findagrave.com

SOURCE INFORMATION & PHOTOFrancecrashes39-45.net - Frédéric LAVERNHE - Findagrave.comThesun.co.uk
PROGRAMMERFrédéric & Renaud
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